Earlier this week, Ryanair announced that passengers should stop wearing jeans when flying, citing comfort, circulation, and general in-flight wellbeing. Which is generous, really, coming from an airline that charges extra if you want to sit down with dignity. One can only assume this is the warm-up act for the inevitable trouser tax. Skinny jeans, five euros. Wide-leg denim, seven. Anything with a button and no stretch, premium pricing. Leggings fly free, obviously. Cargo trousers will be “under review”.
Let’s be clear. Ryanair does not care about your comfort. This is an airline that treats knee space as a lifestyle choice and hydration as an optional luxury. If passenger wellbeing were truly the priority, we might start with seat pitch, punctuality, or not having to refinance your house to bring a small wheelie bag on board.
The jeans announcement also opens up some worrying fashion questions. If denim is out, what exactly is acceptable? Tracksuit bottoms are surely fine, though emotionally confronting before 9am. Pyjamas already feel dangerously close. Mallorca flights in particular are a mixed bag. Early-morning commuters, stag dos, hen parties, second-home owners, toddlers in Elsa dresses, and men dressed exclusively for golf, regardless of destination. Jeans are the one thing holding this fragile social contract together.
Most people wear jeans because they work. They’re practical, familiar, and perfectly acceptable for a short flight followed by real life. Not everyone is gliding from lounge to limousine in bamboo loungewear.
So yes, by all means, offer tips. But unless Ryanair plans to issue a seasonal lookbook or confiscate rigid denim at the gate, perhaps we can all calm down. If the plane lands safely and roughly on time, no one cares what trousers anyone wore. And if they do, they probably need a holiday.